ter, finished the Algerine war.

This brave little vessel sailed into the harbor as if she had been an
ordinary merchantman, and managed to drift down close to the fine
frigate which the Tripolitans had snatched from their blundering enemy.
The crew on board the "Philadelphia" did not suspect the character of
the little vessel which came so close to them, until she was made fast,
and more than eighty men sprang up from the places where they had been
lying concealed on deck, and swarmed over the side of the frigate.

Among these was a young sailor, Lawrence, from Burlington, N.J., who had
begun life early, having been a midshipman when he was only sixteen
years old. When Commodore Preble asked for volunteers to go on this
expedition to snatch from the hands of the pirates the prize which they
thought they had won, Lawrence was one of the first volunteers, and
acted as second in command of this expedition.

The fight was not long. Many of the turbaned crew jumped overboard, and
the others were quickly subdued. It would have been a grand thing if
Decatur and his gallant sailors could have carried off the
"Philadelphia," and have taken her out to the squadron. But this was
absolutely impossible. Her foremast had been cut down in order to
lighten her so that she could be floated off the reef, and many of her
sails were wanting. Knowing that the vessel would not be found in
sailing trim, Preble had issued positive orders that no attempt should
be made to capture her, but that she should be burned.

The cannon from the town and from the war vessels in the port now began
to fire; but the men with Decatur and Lawrence knew exactly what they
had to do, everything having been carefully arranged beforehand. They
went to work without losing a minute, and set fire to the frigate in
many places. The flames and the smoke spread so rapidly that some of
them had hardly time to get out of the hold. Lieutenant Lawrence found
he could not get on deck the way he came down, and was obliged to run
along the hold and climb up forward. As quickly as possible every one
jumped on board the "Intrepid," and, without relying entirely on their
sails to enable them to get away, they put out sixteen great oars, which
were pulled with a will by three or four men to each oar.

Now the whole harbor of Tripoli was in wild commotion. The Americans
stopped rowing for a moment to give three great cheers, and soon cannon
shot were flying fast and furious af